


A Thousand Tomorrows

by Phantom710



Category: Gone With the Wind - All Media Types, Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:14:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantom710/pseuds/Phantom710
Summary: This picks up initially a month after "Frankly My Dear..." and then moves forward to almost a year later, when Rhett and Scarlett encounter each other in Atlanta for the first time. This isn't a quick finish. If there is ever to be a happy ending between them, a lot must happen.





	1. Home to Tara

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan-fiction, so please offer any advice you have. Also, I'm horrible at writing accents, so if certain characters don't speak in the same dialogue as the author, forgive me. Enjoy!

Chapter One: Home to Tara

For one month, Scarlett allowed herself to wallow in her despair, at Tara. For one month she drank away her pain, saw as little people as possible, and absolutely refused to cry. On the thirty-second day she left her room, with a stiff back, and walked down to join the family for dinner. Suellen and Will were already sitting at the table, and the children, including Scarlett’s own Wade and Ella, had already ate their meals and had been sent to bed. They’d visited her only an hour prior to dutifully say their goodnights.   
It pained Scarlett to look at either of them, they were a reminder of all that she’d lost. Wade, a connection to Melly. Ella, a reminder of her other daughter, Bonnie. They both asked her, although Wade moreso than Ella, about Rhett. When was he coming home? Where had he gone? Scarlett couldn’t answer them, partly from choice, and partly because she had no idea where her husband was. Further, Scarlett knew she hadn’t been a good mother, and everytime they appeared in her room, she felt like she didn’t truly have anyone left in her life.

“Good to see you, Scarlett.” said Will, although he didn’t bother to stand when she entered the room and just continued to eat the food on the plate in front of him. 

“I’m not used to having a house guest stay in their room when they visit.” Suellen looked up at Scarlett, pointedly.

“Well, as it’s my house too, Suellen, I thought I might behave as I wished.” Scarlett took a seat at the table and looked at the food that had been prepared. For the first time since Bonnie had died, it at least looked somewhat appetizing. Since her death, she ate for need only. 

The trio ate in silence for a while, until Scarlett couldn’t stand it anymore. “The place looks dreadful Will, is Tara not making enough money to keep it looking respectful?”  
Scarlett felt a glimmer of regret as she saw Will’s subtle wince. “I do what I can Scarlett, me and the few male servants that didn’t leave after the war.”

“Well, we’ll have to make Tara profitable again, won’t we? I won’t watch as it becomes a shadow of what it once was like all the other houses in the county. Tomorrow, I’ll look at everything, and we’ll decide where to begin.” With that, Scarlett’s mind was made up, and with a gusto she hadn’t felt in years, she threw herself into Tara for the next nine months.

***  
The ten months that Scarlett had been away from Atlanta were somehow both the longest, and the shortest, of her life. Forced to return on matters of business for Tara, she’d felt her stomach tighten into a knot as she and Will approached the city. She’d left the city, and the memories, the day after Rhett had left her. She had no desire to return to face the town that still believed her in love with Ashley, and who’d never approved of her, or her actions. Now, there was not even Melly to defend her. There was nothing here, accept an empty house and painful memories. As far as she was concerned, the quicker they left, the better.

Will and Scarlett has chosen the best method was to divide and conquer, so while Will attended to his list of things, Scarlett attended to hers. She was walking past several shops, looking about to see if she could spot Will, when a voice came from behind, and stopped her in her tracks. “From the rumors, I thought you might be harder to track down Scarlett, and yet here you are.”

Rhett. She knew the voice instantly of course, and had only a second more to decide her course of action. She wanted to turn around and scream at him for abandoning her, to throw herself at his feet and beg him for another chance, but she did neither. Instead, she turned around, keeping her face as plain as possible, and looked up into his familiar face. “Why, Rhett, if I’d known you were coming, I would have had a room in the house prepared, as it is--”

“I’ve already secured my lodging for my time here, Scarlett. An old friend has made available a room for me.”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed at the news. He knew he referred to Belle Watling, of course that’s where he would choose to stay, somewhere he knew she would never go. It took all of her strength not to let out a snide remark, but she was determined that he wouldn't see how much he still affected her. “Well then, if you do need in the house, Uncle Henry can let you in. I must be on my way. I need to find Will.” She offered no pleasant farewell and instead turned and walked away. Willing herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other and not look back. Hoping he wouldn’t stop her. Hoping he would. 

She found Will a short time later and breathed a sigh of relief. “You’ve got everything we need, then?”

“Almost everything, Scarlett. A few things were delayed, they’ll be here on the train, tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow? I needed them here today. We can’t go all the way back to Tara and then make this same trip again. We’ll have to stay here a night, now.”

“Yes, Scarlett, I suppose so.”

“Well, I suppose we should head to Peachtree Street then.”

The house smelled stale when she opened the doors, the result of no use. When she’d left, she’d ordered the furniture covered, and the windows all secured, then she’d dismissed all the staff, except Mammy, who went back to Tara with them. At the time she’d hoped, spitefully, that Rhett would come home a week or two later and see that she’d left. For once it would be him waiting for her to return, but Uncle Henry never informed of her of any such event. “I’m sorry about the state of the house will, but I don’t suppose it will matter much since we’re only staying a night.”

Will nodded his agreement, looking around at the opulent surroundings, that still shown. “Yes, Scarlett.”

Scarlett began walking up the staircase, and gestured for Will to follow her. She paused half way up, taking time to run her fingers across the banister. This staircase; it was a scene of consuming passion, and one of horrible pain. She looked up, noticing Will eying her strangely, and let her hand fall to her side, before beginning up the stairs once more. She led him to a spare room, directing him to remove any covers he needed, and to utilize whatever was there. She didn’t want to talk anymore, and so she left him to himself, and walked down the hall.

She paused at a closer door, one more significant than all the rest, for this was closed with more purpose. It was Rhett’s room. The one he’d occupied since Bonnie had been born. The one where Bonnie had lay, with him watching over her, both in life, and in death. The one from which he’d packed his suitcase, and left her ten months prior. She hadn’t planned to go in, but she found herself pushing the door open, regardless. This room, like all the others was draped in plain white fabric to protect the furniture. She pulled the piece that covered the bed off, and stared at her for a moment before sitting down upon it. Scarlett could still picture Bonnie’s little body laid out on top of it, with Rhett forbidding them to bury her. His grief, much like his love for the child, was expansive, and unlike anything anyone had ever seen. It was then, as years of memories, and lost chances, and bad endings rushed over her, that Scarlett O’Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler, cried.


	2. Back to Atlanta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm struggling to figure out formatting a bit, no matter what I do it just doesn't copy over as it should. So, sorry for the odd intents and etc. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

 

Rhett sat with a glass of whisky in his hand, as Belle told him her plans. She was giving over the management of the establishment, and moving. “You’ll do well, Belle, wherever you land. I’m only sorry to lose the last thing that keeps me coming back to Atlanta.”

Belle breathed out a long breath. “As glad as I am to see you here, Rhett, we both know that I’m not why you’re back.” Rhett didn’t respond, unwilling to assess her meaning. 

“Do you know where she is?”

“I’ve already seen her.” At Belle’s quirked eyebrow, he continued. “Only briefly. She was on the street when I first arrived.”

“I’d heard she’d left Atlanta.”

“As had I. You were not the only person who informed me of her absence.”

“Well where was she?”

“I didn’t ask, and she didn’t seem inclined to tell.”

Belle’s inhales, as if to begin to say something, but stopped when Rhett abruptly stood from his chair. “Excuse me, Belle, I fear I am not good company tonight, and don’t greatly feel like talking. I’m going to go for a walk.” He didn’t wait for a reply, and quickly turned, leaving Belle at the table, and exiting the building he’d spent so many nights in over the past years. 

Once outside, he opted for a drive over a walk, and made use of Belle’s buggy. Rhett hadn’t planned to go Peachtree Street, yet somehow that’s where he ended. He pulled up in front of the home, bringing the buggy to a stop. The house was dark, just as everyone had described. Climbing down from the buggy, he walked slowly towards the main entrance of the house. He grimaced. He could still see Bunny playing with a doll on the front steps, hear the cries from Scarlett after he’d walked away from her. He’d hated this house, he’d swore he’d never return, yet here he was. 

Rhett reached out, trying the door handle and was surprised when it turned. Something he didn’t understand propelled him forward, through the door, across the entryway, and eventually up the stairs. These were yet another bitter reminder of the past. The only truly good memory of this place was that this was Bonnie’s home. The only home she’d ever known. Now she was gone too, and with her, he knew he’d died as well. 

He went first to the nursery, and looked inside. Bonnie’s bed sat next to Ella’s. His little girl that was so scared of the dark had finally slept away from him. He’d probably hated it more than her. In fact, he knew he did. Rhett didn’t linger in the nursery, he closed the door behind him and headed toward his bedroom. The silence in the house was eery, there had always been noise within; whether from the hustle of servants or the running of children’s feet. He opened the door and stopped short. The gaslight inside his room was dimly lit, but it allowed enough light to outline the figure of a woman. Scarlett was asleep on his bed.

The corner of Rhett’s mouth quirked up, involuntarily, he couldn’t help but find something ironic about it all. Since Bonnie’s birth Scarlett has steadfastly refused to share his bed, or for him to share hers, so to find her in it now, was quite amusing.  _ “Oh, well,” _ he’d said that day,  _ “It seems we’ve been at cross purposes, doesn’t it?” _  It was further proof that Scarlett and himself had never seemed to want the same things at the same time. He stood there a moment more, have wanting to turn on his heel and leave this place, and half desperate to wake her, to speak to her. He couldn’t let her weaken him again. For years he’d stayed. He’d told himself it was for Bonnie; a child needed a mother. Yet, in the months since he’d been gone, he’d realized he’d stayed for her as well. No matter what she’d done, he’d always been able to see a part of the Scarlett he’d fell in love with. No, if he woke her now, he would never leave, and that was simply not an option. So, Rhett Butler turned, not bothering to close the door behind him, and walked as quickly as possible from the house he’d called home.

 

The morning light shining through a crack in the drapes woke Scarlett. She jumped, surprised to awaken sprawled across Rhett’s bed. She couldn’t remember falling asleep. She still wore the same dress from the day before, so she quickly made her way to her own room, rifling through the dresses she hadn’t brought with her, and finding one that would be easy enough to get into without the help of a servant. When she’d finished, she walked downstairs, to find Will already waiting in a chair. 

“Good morning, Scarlett. I reckon it’s time to finish up here and head back to Tara.”

Scarlett’s mind wandered back to her encounter with the Rhett. At the time she hadn’t wanted to prolong it, but now she didn’t want to leave Atlanta without speaking to him again. “Yes, though let’s split up again. I have a few thing I need to look at, and you need to finish getting everything we need. I’ll find you when I’m done and we can leave.”

Will looked at her for a moment, assessing, before responding. “Alright. I guess we best leave then. I’ll go get our buggy.” 

Later, Scarlett wouldn’t remember climbing into the buddy, or the drive into the main streets of Atlanta. She was too focused on coming up with a plan. She needed to talk to Rhett. He’d promised her he’d come back for the sake of appearances, yet she hadn’t seen him in almost a year. The girl he’d left crying as he walked away wanted to fall onto her knees and beg him to come back to her. The girl she’d become over the last months at Tara, refused to bend. Still, she couldn’t stand being in this state of suspension. 

When Will had finally left her as she’d asked, Scarlett began a determined walk down the street. She could think of only a few places that Rhett could be, and the most likely of which angered her. Hell would surely freeze over before she was caught dead walking into Belle Watling’s establishment. If fate were ever in her favor, it was just a half hour later when a tall, well-known, silhouette came into view down the street from her. 

He stood against a building, a cigar in his hand. As Scarlett neared, she took a moment to take in what he looked like. The year had gifted him with just a touch more gray hair at his temples, and a few bits over the rest of his hair. What was not gray, however, was still the darkest black. His face hadn’t changed completely, but he looked different nonetheless. He seemed rested, he didn’t have the tense creases across his face that he’d had whenever he looked at her. That peacefulness almost stopped her from continuing on. Almost, but not quite.

“Good morning, Rhett.” she smiled at him. Though his face changed almost imperceptibly when he heard her voice.

Rhett turned his body towards her, no longer leaning, and looking straight down at her. “You seem to be in town quite a lot for someone who’d supposedly left.”

“And who told you I’d left?”

“I do have a few people who talk to me in this town.”

“Well, they’re right. I’m only in Atlanta today because we didn’t finish up our business yesterday.”

“And where is the new widower, Mr. Wilkes?”

Scarlett’s heart sank with his words as much as he temper flared. “That was an awful thing to say, Rhett. For your information, I’ve only seen Ashley twice since you left, and the first was at Melly’s funeral, so I don’t think that counts as a social visit.”

Rhett quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing, so Scarlett continued. “The second time Suellen invited him and Beau and India over for supper.”

“Suellen?”

Scarlett grimaced. She hadn’t meant to say anything about Tara, or the fact that that’s where she’d been the last months. She’d rather him think she’d been off enjoying herself. “Yes, I was visiting Tara.” That wasn’t a lie, after all. 

Thankfully, Rhett didn’t push her on the topic any further. “Shall we go for a walk around town, Mrs. Butler? We’ve got to keep the tongues at bay.” The cool, mocking voice, was back just as it had never left. 

“It’s been ten months since we’ve been seen together, Rhett. I think that ship has sailed.”

“So you’re declining my offer for a walk, then?”

“No. I’m merely pointing out that whatever your reason is for it, it’s not for gossip’s sake.” Scarlett said blandly. 

Rhett gestured with his hand towards the direction they would walk. He didn’t offer his arm, nor did he offer a reply to her comment. He wasn’t sure he had one. She was right. Ten months had passed, and anything that the town has dreamed up, or heard, was already hard-set in their minds. He’s promised to come back, to be seen often enough. Yet every time he’d considered it, he’d decided against it, and when he’d heard she was no longer in Atlanta, he’d stopped considering it altogether. He looked down at the top of her head, her face pointed directly in front of them. There was something different about this Scarlett. She was different than the one he’d left. He couldn’t place it though, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.


	3. A Brief Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little shorter, but I'm posting three chapters today, so that's alright, right?

Chapter Three:

 

Scarlett and Rhett walked in silence a little ways more, before Rhett spoke. “How are the children?”

“Do you mean Wade and Ella?”

“Of course I mean Wade and Ella, Scarlett.”

“I’d rather thought you’d forgot about them.”

“You forget, Scarlett, that they’ve been in our family as long as you have. I’m not likely to forget them.” 

“Where were you, Rhett? It wasn’t just me you left. It was them too.”

“Scarlett--” he broke off, grimacing. 

She stopped in her tracks, turning to face him instead of walking on. “Wade asked me every week for five months when you were coming home.”

“I--”

“Ella cried to me for a month, every night. She wanted to know why she’d lost her sister, Aunt Melly, and Uncle Rhett.” If Scarlett were honest, at the time Wade and Ella’s questions had bothered her more than hurt her. She’d grown tired of answering them over and over with same answer: I don’t know. Yet now, as she was standing there, relaying it all to the man she hadn’t seen in months, she felt her anger rise. 

“I couldn’t, Scarlett. Every time I thought about seeing them, I thought about not seeing Bonnie ever again.”

“ I did too, Rhett. Except I lived with them for the past ten months, and now when I see them, I don’t see Bonnie. I see Wade, and Ella.” Scarlett turned back in the direction they were heading and began walking again. She didn’t see the look flash across Rhett’s face, while subtle, it was there. He was impressed.

“How long will you be in Atlanta, Scarlett?”

“Hopefully just another hour or so.”   
“Why the rush?”

“I haven’t been back to Atlanta since I left. I wouldn’t have came yesterday except I had some things to attend to. After today, I don’t plan on returning.”

“Why are you abandoning Atlanta?”

“Why did you abandon it?”

“You know why, Scarlett. I needed something different. I needed to be somewhere else.”

“Well, then, now you know my answer as well.”

“I seem to remember you wanting to live here, and there’s an ostacious house to prove it.”

“I used to want a lot of things that I don’t want anymore.” Scarlett replied, pointedly. 

“So it would seem.” As he spoke they reached the end of the block, and Rhett paused, looking at Scarlett to see which direction they would head next. 

“Well, this seems as good as spot as any to conclude our walk. I really must be going. I need to meet someone.” Scarlett looked up at Rhett, waiting for a snide response, but it didn’t come.

“Of course. Would you have any great objection if I wrote to Wade and Ella? I’d also like to visit them in the next month or so.”

Scarlett wanted to give him a biting retort, but she the bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself. She inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Of course, Rhett, I’m sure they’ll enjoy that. You can write to them at Tara. They’ll make sure we get any letters.”

Rhett nodded. “It was good to see you, Scarlett.”

“Was it? I’m not entirely sure I can say the same.” She nodded her head towards him and quickly made her way across the street and in the opposite direction of him, hoping to find Will sooner, rather than later.

 

The trip back to Tara was long, and silent. Will waited until the main house was almost in view before finally speaking to Scarlett. “I saw Rhett in town, this morning.”

“Oh? Did you speak to him?”

“No, I was speaking with someone and when I was finished, he was gone.”

“I saw him too.” Scarlett commented.

“I wondered if you might have. I know you weren’t happy to be in Atlanta, but you seemed even more anxious to leave than I’d expected.”

“Tara is my home. I think I only fooled myself into believing that Atlanta was.”

“Will Rhett be following you back to Tara soon, Scarlett?”

When she’d arrived at Tara, just two days after Rhett had left, Scarlett hadn’t had the strength to think up a lie about Rhett. Yet at the time, she also refused to tell anyone that he’d left her, for good. She hadn’t been ready to accept that. Instead, she’d told them that Rhett and her decided they needed some time with their families, to get through the loss of Bonnie and Melly. She’d come to Tara, and he’d gone to his mother in Charleston. Suellen had looked skeptical but had said nothing, and everyone else seemed content to take Scarlett for her word. Mammy had come with them, and she couldn't be sure, but she was fairly sure that Mammy knew the truth, or at least suspected it. There wasn’t anything anyone could keep from that woman. 

“Maybe eventually, but for now I think he’s returning to Charleston.”

“Scarlett, you’ve known me for a while now.”

“Yes?” 

“So then you know I try not to get into other people’s affairs, especially yours.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Scarlett--”

“Yes, Will?” There was a hint of impatience in her voice as she answered. In the past months she’d grown fonder of Will, more so than she’d expected. She appreciated his love of Tara, and his love of the land. It was something her father would have respected about him as well. Still, she didn’t really want to be talking to Will about Rhett, let alone any other aspects of her marriage-- if one could truly call it that at this point.

“I don’t know of any problem that ever fixed itself by being left alone.”


	4. Charleston

Chapter Four:

 

Will’s words played across Scarlett’s mind for several days following the ride home from Atlanta. Additionally,  as much as she hated to admit it, Scarlett thought he was probably correct. Still, she wasn’t entirely convinced it should be her that should be making the effort to fix it. Hadn’t she told Rhett how she felt? She hadn’t abandoned her family, he had. This was his mess to clean up. Wasn’t it? 

The next few weeks passed by somewhat quickly as Tara’s summer harvest demanded the majority of Scarlett’s attention. She was determined that Tara would be profitable this year, more so than any year before, and for that to happen, she spent almost every waking minute making sure she was going to get the most money for their crops. So, when a letter arrived from Rhett two weeks after she’d seen him, it got buried beneath papers for another two weeks, with Scarlett never having so much as seen the envelope Mammy placed on her desk.

One evening, in the first week of August, she spotted the familiar scrawl of her husband’s handwriting, and tore the envelope open:

_ “Scarlett,” _ it began, and she couldn’t help but noticed it was neither prefaced or ended with any terms of endearment. 

_ “Given the way we parted last, I’m sure you’re as surprised to receive this letter, as I am at writing it. I would have enclosed letters to the children, but the circumstances surrounding this letter might negate that particular need.” _ Scarlett scoffed, but continued reading.  _ “Upon my arrival back in Charleson, my mother became ill. She’d suffered from mild complaints in the last few months, but this is the worst it’s ever been. _

_ The doctor’s fear that she might not make it. I write this letter to ask you to come to Charleston, and bring the children if you choose. She’s asking for you. She wants to meet her Daughter-in-law before she meets her maker. I shall await your response. Rhett.” _

Scarlett sat the letter back down on her desk and leaned back in her chair. In all the years that she’d been married to Rhett, she’d never once met his mother. In the early years, he was determined to never go back to Charleston, and in the later years, they were both determined to spend as little time as possible in each other’s company. Scarlett was in two minds. One was shouting at her to refuse. Why should she meet her mother-in-law, when her husband was determined to no longer be her husband. The other was pleading for her to go. She knew that Rhett hadn’t penned the letter with ease, and despite their current difficulties, she knew well what it was like to lose a mother, and she didn’t want Rhett to be alone if that were to happen.

Within fifteen minutes the battle within her was over, and the pleading side had won. She’d sought out Mammy, and told her to make preparations for her and the children to leave in the morning. Scarlett didn’t send a reply to Rhett, knowing that she would make it to Charleston before the letter did, and there had already been a delay as evidence by the date he’d penned on the letter.

 

***

“Are we almost there yet, mother?” Eight year old Ella was sitting anxiously at the edge of her seat within the carriage. The entire trip to Charleston had been filled with questions, and Scarlett wasn’t able to answer many at all.

“The driver said we would be there soon, I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about. Now, sit back and calm down.” Scarlett.

Wade’s response to the trip had been far less excited, and more skeptical. “Why does Uncle Rhett’s mother want to meet us now? Why does she care just because she might be dying?”

“Death has a funny way of making people think about life, Wade.” 

Wade nodded, but said nothing, he sat back in the carriage with his thoughts until they finally came to a stop. “Well, we’re here.” Scarlett said, though her voice was not as steady as she’d expected.

The driver hopped down onto the street, and opened the door. Ella, no longer able to wait, jumped down, not waiting for her brother or mother, and immediately began commenting on her surroundings. Scarlett gestured for Wade to follow his sister, taking a final breath by herself before exiting. The driver offered his hand as she stepped down, and she got her first look at her mother-in-law’s home. The driver placed their trunks on the ground beside them, Scarlett paid the man, and he left. She was trying to decide upon how best to make their presence known, when the front door of the house opened, and Rhett appeared in the doorway.

His hair was somewhat disheveled and his eyes looked as if he hadn’t slept much. He walked towards them, looking down at Wade and Ella first. “Wade, Ella, I’m glad to see you.”

Wade offered a non-committal sound, and Ella stepped forward slightly. “We missed you Uncle Rhett.”

“I’ve missed you too. Go ahead inside, they’re running around trying to set up a room for you.” The children did as he bade, and walked into the unfamiliar house in front of them.

Rhett’s attention turned to Scarlett. “It’s just like you to come unannounced, Scarlett. Though I guess I should say my thanks for coming at all.”

“I didn’t see your letter until the night before we left, I thought I’d get here before my response, so I didn’t send one.”

A few men came from inside the house and went towards them, intent on getting the bags and trunks he’d brought along, inside. “Thank you,” Rhett said to them, “Please make sure Mrs. Butler’s things are placed in her dressing room.”

Once the staff were out of earshot, Scarlett arched an eyebrow in Rhett’s direction. “My dressing room? Don’t you mean my bedroom?”

“Why, no, my dear. You might have noticed that this house isn’t quite as large as your house, or even Tara, for that matter. We’ll be sharing a room, but you have been given your own dressing room, separate from mine, to protect your modesty.” Rhett finished his sentence with a smirk. 

Scarlett chose not to reward him with a remark, and instead asked of his mother. “Is she better?”

“I’m afraid not. It appears the doctors were right. She grows weaker by the day-- her heart they say.”

“I am sorry, Rhett, no matter what you think of me, I hope you know I mean that, at least.”

Rhett’s face softened. “I know you do. Thank you for coming. I think she’d like to believe that I am a happy family man before she leaves this world.”

Perhaps he didn’t hate her after all, Scarlett mused to herself, or maybe it was just the grief talking. “If you’ll give me a moment to freshen up, I’ll meet her whenever you’re ready.” 

“Follow me. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

Scarlett followed Rhett into the house and up the stairs, arriving at a door at the end of the hall. “Our room, Mrs. Butler. He opened the door, gesturing for her to enter. 

The room was directed in the complete opposite fashion as her own room in Atlanta. The furniture was nice, but not ornate, the various fabrics were all simple, combinations of pastels and natural colors, nothing bold. She could see now what he’d wanted when he’d come here to find the peace and gentility he’d mentioned. It was everything that Scarlett was not, or at least, had not been for some time. “Thank you, Rhett. I’ll just be a moment.” Then, without allowing him the opportunity to follow her inside, she shut the door behind her, and prepared herself to meet the other Mrs. Butler.


	5. The Other Mrs. Butler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been a minute since I posted. I went on vacation and then was slammed with school and work. My LO has been sick and last night we were in the ER with him, finding out he has pneumonia, but I've been dying to write and found a minute to do so. Hope you're all still here!

Chapter Five: The Other Mrs. Butler  


 

Scarlett paced back and forth across the room, anxious at the idea of finally meeting Rhett’s mother when for the entirety of her marriage, that had never seemed to be a priority. She hadn’t purchased any gowns in the time that Rhett had been gone. As she’d stayed at Tara there hadn’t really been a need. The urgency of Rhett’s letter hadn’t allowed time for shopping either, so Scarlett had only her old dresses to choose from. She wanted to make a good impression. A knock on the door startled her from her contemplation, and a maid entered. 

The two stood in silence as the girl helped lace up her corset and put on her dress. She left quietly, leaving Scarlett alone to look at her reflection for a moment. “I don’t know why I care what I look like. She hasn’t shown an interest in me before, now she’s dying and wants to meet me.”

With final gaze at herself, Scarlett turned around and made her way outside her room. Rhett was waiting for her. “You’re not wearing something new, Scarlett? I believe I saw that dress on you before.”

“I didn’t have time to pick out a new dress Rhett, you’re letter was urgent. I can go shopping now if you’d like?” She knew he was baiting her, and she wouldn’t let him win. 

“That’ll do just fine. I’d hate for mother to die while you’re fussing over which gaudy gown you’ll buy next.”

Scarlett scowled. “If you’re going to be mean Rhett, I’d just as soon rather leave.”

Rhett’s face fell for a moment. “I apologize, Scarlett. Please, come this way.” He gestured down the hall to a closed door. “She’s awake, waiting for you.”

Scarlett followed him down the hallway and went into the room behind him as he opened the door. She caught her first glimpse of her mother-in-law, a frail looking woman sitting up against a mound of pillows on her bed. The lady held out her hand, and Rhett walked over and took it, smiling down at her. 

“Mother, Scarlett’s come to meet you.”

A small smile flashed across the pale face, and she looked around her son and directly at Scarlett. “Oh, good. I’m so glad you’re here. Come sit by me.”

Scarlett smiled and walked over toward her, standing directly beside Rhett. “Mrs. Butler, I’m so glad we finally have the chance to meet.” She grinned down at the woman, trying to remember a bit of the charm she’d stopped using almost a year ago. There wasn’t need for it at Tara, not anymore at least.

“Leave us, Rhett. Go entertain yourself. We’ll be fine, just us.”

Rhett looked back and forth between the two women, debating with himself on what course of action to take, but eventually his mother won. With another smile at her, Rhett offered a small bow. “As you wish, mother. Scarlett, find me when you’re done.”

Scarlett flashed him a glance, her green eyes cooly staring up at him, and then nodded. “Of course.”

When Rhett had left, his mother made an effort to sit up a little straighter in her bed, but gave up. Scarlett’s heart twinged a little as she took in the sight of her mother-in-law. She knew the doctors were right in assuming she was not long for the world, if her days of nursing had taught her anything, she knew the look someone had about them when they’d accepted their impending fate. “Relax, Mrs. Butler, don’t worry about sitting up on my account.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Scarlett. Rhett’s been a bear around the house since he got here. I know it’s because he misses you.”

Scarlett wasn’t so sure about that. If it were anyone else she probably would have commented, but she bit the inside of her cheek, instead, before replying. “I’m sure it’s just because he’s worried for you.”

“I’m dying, Scarlett. It’s rather depressing to talk about it, but there it is.”

“You’ll get better, Mrs. Butler. You’re young still.”

“I haven’t been young in a long time, but you’re nice to say it, just the same.”

Scarlett glanced around the room. Unsure of what to say. Thankfully, Rhett’s mother had no such dilemma, as she continued on. “I don’t want him to see me die, Scarlett. He’s seen enough of that lately, and you too.” She didn’t say Bonnie’s name, but her meaning was clear.

“He loved Bonnie a great deal, as he does you, so you must try not to die, Mrs. Butler.” Scarlett was surprised at the conviction of her words. She’d never thought she’d be having a conversation like this with Rhett’s mother, but she knew that Rhett didn’t handle death well. 

“You must take him home with you, Scarlett. I know he won’t want to go, but you must take him. Don’t let him stay in Charleston and watch me die.” The woman pleaded, clutching Scarlett’s hand. 

Scarlett wasn’t sure she could make Rhett leave the house with her, let alone leave Charleston and return back to Atlanta. Still, she couldn’t tell Mrs. Butler that. “I’ll try, I will.”

“Today? I wish I could spend more time with you, but will you try today?”

“Yes, I’ll try.”

Mrs. Butler seemed content with her answer, and visibly relaxed back against the pillows behind her. “I get tired easily these days. Will you forgive me while I take a little rest? And come see me later?”

“Yes, of course.” Scarlett patted her mother-in-law’s hand and then quietly left the woman to her sleep. She exhaled a deep breath when she left the room. Rhett wasn’t hard to find as he was sitting in a chair reading a paper when she walked downstairs. He looked up and she saw just how tired he looked.

“She’s already convinced of the happy state of our union?”

Scarlett sat down in a chair opposite of him. “She didn’t really mention us, Rhett. She’s worried about you.”

Rhett’s forehead creased and his eyebrows pulled closer together. “Me? She’s the one unable to leave her bed.”

Scarlett stood back up, pacing a moment, and pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth as she did so.  Finally, she turned around, seeing that Rhett’s full attention was on her and he looked more concerned. “Rhett, she knows that she’d dying, she wants me to take you back home. Away from all of this. She doesn’t want you here, if it’s to be the end.”

“My mother doesn’t know me as well as I thought if she thinks I’d leave her now.”

“She thinks I can convince you.”

“Did you encourage that belief?”

“I told her I’d try.”

“Well, consider this your failed effort. I won’t leave her. If you’ll at least tay a few days so she can see you again, and meet Ella and Wade, I’d appreciate it.”

Scarlett sighed. “I’ll stay as long as you’d like, Rhett, only I wish we could talk about some things if I do.”

Rhett stood up from his chair, facing Scarlett, who now had to arch her neck up to see him. “I’ll try Scarlett, but not today. Make yourself at home, I’m going to go sit with her.”

Scarlett watched as he walked up the stairs and disappeared. She could already see her time in Charleston would be a hard one, but she couldn’t see if it would be worth it or not. As she stared at the empty staircase she asked herself what she wanted. She hadn’t really considered what would happen when she showed up in Charleston. She’d wanted Rhett back from the moment he’d left. Yet she’d found a quiet peace at Tara that she already missed. She didn’t have any longer to consider it as Wade and Ella appeared at the top of the stairs and hurried down towards her when they saw her.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! If you're still here, I'd just like to take a moment to thank you for sticking with me. Since I last updated I have got my Bachelor's and started the Police Academy. I struggle to find time to eat, let alone write. However, it was 3am in the morning and I had the next day off, so I decided to write this. I'm very excited for Chapter Seven, so watch for that coming soon. Enjoy!

Rhett wouldn’t hear anything else about leaving, and so the first day passed into the second, and into the third. Mrs. Butler visited with Scarlett and the children for a bit each day before tiring and falling back asleep. Rhett spoke very little, and chose to fall asleep in a chair in his mother’s room rather than fall asleep in the same room that Scarlett slept in. On the fourth day, Mrs.Butler failed to wake up in the morning, and the house immediately fell into an even darker mood.   
As the arrangements were being made for the funeral, Scarlett tried to keep Wade and Ella distracted. Ella, whether it be from the quick attachment she had seemed to form with her new grandmother, or the sheer amount of loss she had to experience in her young life, was distraught. Scarlett tried to comfort her, but found herself at a loss. She had no words to make it easier for the little girl, or she’d have already used them on herself. First Charles, than her mother and father, than Frank, and of course Bonnie and Melly; it seemed that there was no shortage of people to be taken away from her.   
Through it all, Rhett remained stoic and silent. He didn’t grieve his mother as he had done Bonnie. His sadness was evident as he went about his tasks, but he didn’t fall into the darkness that Scarlett had expected. Still, it wasn’t until the following day when she finally dared to approach him.   
She found him in the dining room, sitting at the table with a glass in his hand. He tipped it to his mouth and swallowed some of the amber liquid as she approached. “Rhett…”  
“I’m not sure how you did it, but you seemed to have won her over in your short time here.” Rhett didn’t look at her as he spoke, but his fingers tapped on the side of his glass and for a moment that was the only sound in the room.   
“I think Wade and Ella were the real enticement. She perked up when they came in.” Scarlett’s chest tightened as she watched Rhett. A part of her wanted to go to him, to hold him, and protect him from the pain. She knew what the loss of a mother felt like. The feeling confused her; it was something she’d never really felt, and especially not towards him. Rhett had always been the strong one, she’d leaned on him, but never the other way around. The one time when he’d needed someone, she’d been too wrapped up in her own feelings to help him.   
“She bid me to return to Atlanta. To our house.” Rhett said the words sarcastically, but also as if they bored him. Scarlett’s eyes widened regardless.   
“Are you?” Scarlett immediately regretted the words. Despite everything, they still sounded hopeful.  
“No, Scarlett. Even my mother’s final wishes can’t make that house my home.” He swallowed the remainder of the glass’s contents in one quick motion, placing the empty cup back down on the table with a slam.   
Scarlett flinched, and her eyes narrowed. “I’ll leave you to your drink. I’m taking Wade and Ella after the funeral is done.” She hadn’t yet planned their departure, but as she stood, staring at Rhett, she knew she couldn’t stay. 

Scarlett had been asleep for a few hours when a sound in her room startled her awake. Her eyes squinted as she tried to catch her breath and make out what had caused the noise in the darkened room. Just a moment before a match was struck, casting a small glow over a face, she knew who had made the sound. The smell of cigars, whiskey, and sandalwood filled the room. Rhett. She’d never really noticed that he had his own scent until the night before she’d left the Peachtree Street house. Scarlett had walked into his room and the scent had surprised her. Now, she could smell it again, and when the match lit, she could see the faint outline of him sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.   
“Rhett…”  
“I have to confess, I may have drank a little more than I’d intended tonight. I quite forgot you were here.”  
“Yes, well, you haven’t shared a house with me in a long time, it’s no wonder you’ve forgotten.” Scarlett was staring towards the corner; her eyes had adjusted slightly, but he was still just a shadow.  
Rhett’s silhouette moved and walked toward the bed. Scarlett instinctively gathered up the covers and pulled them up over her chest as she sat, covering herself from his gaze. “I haven’t slept in a bed in days, Scarlett.”  
“I’m aware. The cook said she’d been serving you every meal in your mother’s rooms.”  
“I wasn’t around before, I figured I should be around in her final days.”  
“I’m sure she was grateful.”  
“I’m tired, Scarlett.”  
When she would have responded, her words were cut off. Rhett knelt on the bed in a quick motion, and fell over against the pillows beside her. Her breath quickened at his proximity. She waited for him to speak, but a moment later his deep, even, breathing told her that he was asleep. She contemplated getting up and leaving. She could go sleep in Ella’s bed, or go sit in the same chair he had just occupied. Yet, she decided against it, telling herself she wanted to see his face in the morning when he woke up in her bed.

For the second time that night, Scarlett awoke to a dark room. It appeared she was destined to get little sleep. This time, however, the cause of her awakening wasn’t as readily obvious. There was no drunken Rhett stumbling around and bumping into things to wake her. The door was still closed, and in the brief moment of time where she was between sleep and awake, she didn’t hear anyone up and about in the house. Then as consciousness more fully overcame her, she realized why she’d awoken. She was hot. Her thin nightdress was sticking to her skin, but she couldn’t move to adjust it. A heavy arm lay draped across her midsection, and its owner was pressed up against her side.   
Immediately Scarlett was alert. A quick sideways glance confirmed that Rhett was still sound asleep. He was no longer laying on top of the covers and had apparently climbed beneath them while they were both asleep. Scarlee started to move, but stopped. The heat from his body was uncomfortable, but she took a moment to enjoy the feel of him next to her. Silent, and unable to mock her in his present state, she found that she was in no hurry for him to wake.  
She wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d laid there when he began to stir. She closed her eyes, and tried to even her breathing, not wanting to be caught lying there as she was. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. The body next to her moved again, but the arm stayed draped across her abdomen. Scarlett took another breath in, and out, but this time on the exhale she felt warm lips press against her shoulder. She opened her eyes slowly, and moved her her head just a fraction of an inch in his direction. His eyes were open, but they didn’t meet hers, they looked down at her shoulder where his lips had just been. He shifted upwards and kissed closer to her neck.   
Rhett placed another kiss, and then another before finally his gaze met hers. She stared, wide eyed at him. Bewildered, but not completely unaffected from his attention. He let out a long slow sigh before his head bent down and he claimed her lips with his. He moved over her, never releasing her lips completely; it was a silent forbiddance for her to speak or make a sound. Aside from his breath which was becoming heavier as he moved, he was silent. His hands reached out and grabbed her wrists, pulling them to either side of her and pinning them to the bed beneath his weight.   
When he released them momentarily to tug at the fabric of her nightgown, Scarlett moved her hands to his shoulders. He stopped his actions and took her hands in his once more, placing them back on the bed where he had put them before. While Rhett was still silent, his instructions were clear, he wanted her silent and still. Scarlett’s head was spinning. She was desperate to speak, to say something to him. She wanted to encourage him, and to reprimand him at the same time. She bit her lip in an effort to keep from speaking, afraid that words might break the spell. He moved more fully overtop of her, placing kisses across her shoulders and neck as he did so. Scarlett knew what was going to happen next, and she knew that in that moment, she should speak, yet she couldn’t seem to find the will.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: A New Beginning

Never in her life had Scarlett Butler been an early riser. It was something that had caused both her mother and Mammy many long faces. Even years ago, when Tara had been struggling and Scarlett had worked to keep everyone fed, never had she got up early. For Scarlett, the night time had always held more excitement, and the morning rarely had. So, she was shocked when she awoke the next morning as the sun was barely beginning to peek into her room through the thick fabric curtains on the window. She was even more surprised when she saw that Rhett, who had turned over and away from her at some point after their time together, was still in bed and fast asleep.

Scarlett moved carefully as she got out of the bed. She glanced at Rhett frequently as she moved around the room. He remained fast asleep. She pulled a wrapper around herself and went to wake the children and get them ready for the day. The funeral would be later that afternoon after Mrs. Butler's friends had a moment to come view her at rest in the main room. Wade and Ella woke easily, and Ella seemed to be better than she had been the day prior. When the children were downstairs eating their morning meal, Scarlett returned to her room to change, and was unsurprised when she noticed the bed was empty.

Rhett was nowhere to be seen for the remainder of the morning, and Scarlett has just enough pride left that she didn't dare ask the household staff. If anyone thought it strange that he was not in attendance at his mother's viewing, they didn't say it aloud.

When the afternoon came, the house moved to the cemetery. Rhett arrived just in time to walk over with Scarlett and the children. He was silent as he walked beside her. Wade walked on the other side of his mother and Ella reached out to grab Rhett's hand as they moved. Scarlett hazarded a glance in Rhett's direction, curious to see if she could read his thoughts from the expression on his face.

He looked straight ahead as they walked, not acknowledging anyone. At the funeral his face was motionless and expressionless. He placed a bouquet of flowers on his mother's coffin as they lowered her down but then moved into an upright position once again. Despite the solemn occasion, the people of Charleston seemed more interested in meeting Scarlett than she had expected. In the midst if the throng of people who were asking her questions and greeting Wade and Ella, Rhett disappeared.

When she finally got her way free of them, she ushered the children home and asked the house staff to begin packing their luggage. She found Rhett sitting alone in his study. She entered quietly, focused on him and he looked up at her, but not unkindly.

"Scarlett…"

"Rhett…" they both began at once. She smiled as she sat down across from him. "You first."

"I drank more than I intended last night and was quite exhausted." He began, sounding very careful as he chose his words. Scarlett could feel what he was going to say next, and braced herself for the rejection. "I don't remember much from last night, but I do know that I came to our room and apparently fell asleep in our bed at some point. I apologize for that."

Scarlett blinked once, and then once more as she processed his words. He fell asleep? That was what he wished to comment on? Did he truly not remember what had occured? Or did he simply want to forget it happened?

In the near year since he'd left, Scarlett had imagined their reunion hundreds if times and happening in equally as many ways. Even on the days she was absolutely furious with him, she'd still assumed that one day he would come back to her. The night before had been fast and urgent, two people coming together out of sheer need. It had been unlike anything she'd experienced, coming only close to their last night they had spent together. It seemed that they were only destined to share that type of passion when they were both completely distant or furious with each other.

Scarlett opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again, choosing to remain silent as she wrestled with her thoughts. Rhett didn't choose the same action.

"I heard the servants bustling around and readying your things. Thank you for at least staying to see my mother properly buried. You'll be returning today then?"

"Yes. As soon as everything can be arranged."

Rhett's eyes squinted, the tanned skin at the corners creasing slightly. He had expected more of a fight from her, he'd prepared for it. When he invited her to come to Charleston he had just known that she wouldn't leave without him making her. He vaguely recognized a feeling of disappointment but then suppressed it, unwilling to delve deeper into his thoughts on the subject.

"Where will you be going? Atlanta?"

"No, I'm done with Atlanta, or at least as much as I can be for the time being." She was returning to Tara and from there, she wasn't sure. It was operating better than it had been and it was easily going to be profitable this year. She no longer felt the need to stay and watch over everything.

With a bit of guidance, Will had really stepped into the running of Tara. He still didn't do things exactly as she wished them to be, but she found that it didn't concern her as much as it had at one time. As long as Tara wasn't running into the ground and was turning a profit, she felt she could step away from it.

Rhett didn't press her further. He assumed she would go to Tara. That place had the uncommon ability of bringing out her strength. He told himself that it didn't matter where she went, if only he thought she would agree to a divorce, they need never see each other again. The likelihood of that was slim, and for now the mere fact of being married hadn't stopped him from doing as he wished. It was a fight he wouldn't concern himself with now.

September passed into October and Scarlett sat in her room at Tara, completely bored with her life. The year since Melly's death had passed and Scarlett had abandoned the mourning clothes that she'd worn since Bonnie's accident. She supposed she should still be in mourning for Rhett's mother, but she was so dreadfully tired of black and had only met her that once. Mammy had scoffed at her, but didn't scold, for which she was thankful.

Rhett had wrote a letter to each of the children once in the last month, but nothing to her. His letters to Wade and Ella were deliberately vague about where he was, saying that he was traveling and would be by to see them in the next months. Their house in Atlanta on Peachtree Street was sold days before. Scarlett had expected to be sadder about it, but she found herself relieved.

Half of the money from the sale was wired to Rhett's attorney, who had somehow secured his signature despite Scarlett having no idea where to locate him. Scarlett hadn't wanted any of it, but Uncle Henry had insisted. Now, she was seeking another house and she found herself evaluating what she really wanted. When Rhett had given her carte blanche on their home, she wanted everything.

With the war so fresh in her mind, Scarlett wanted all the splendor she'd had before the war, and more. Rhett had taken her to opulent hotels in New Orleans, and she'd experienced finer things than she'd ever known existed, so when it came to building their home, she wanted all of it. He'd mocked her taste, but had continued to buy her whatever she wanted, and Scarlett had never been able to turn down having free reign. Now, when she considered her requirements for a home, she could see how much she'd changed. She still wanted nice things, but the gaudy fabrics and expensive details didn't give her the same pleasure as they once had. When the deal closed on the Peachtree Street house, Suellen had asked if she was going to go see the place one last time, and it surprised Scarlett that she had no desire to do so.

The servants bustled around her room, packing the last of her trunks as she was once again leaving Tara. While Uncle Henry wasn't happy about it, he'd supported her in choosing to move. After speaking with a few other merchants in Atlanta and other lawyers that Uncle Henry knew, she was taking a trip to Newnan to see if there was any houses or property that interested her. Uncle Henry was unable to come, so it was just her on this excursion, and she found herself content with the idea. Ella was staying with Suellen at Tara, and Wade was staying with his Uncle and Cousin in Atlanta. The sale of the Peachtree Street house was just what she had needed to spur Scarlett into action, and just maybe give her a new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This wasn't what I had planned for Chapter Seven, but as I wrote, erased, and re-wrote, I knew Scarlett needed to move. Tara is no longer struggling, and I can't imagine that living with Suellen for the last year has been sunshine and rainbows. I think it has brought the Sister's closer, but I think Scarlett isn't the type of person to share a house that long. I feel like Atlanta is in her past as well. Newnan is about 7ish hours away (by horse/carriage) from Atlanta and Tara, so it's close enough to return home for an emergency, but far enough away that maybe not as many people know her.


End file.
